JP2002056031A - System for replying attendance/absence to/from event - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable information exchange among expected participants to one another, too. SOLUTION: A manager accesses a Web server 100 from a terminal device 10 and inputs event contents, the date and hour and place for holding an event and the names and mail addresses of the expected participants on a Web page W. A mail server 200 distributes the mail of event notification to each expected participant on the basis of the inputted contents. When the expected participant opens the mail, an embedded auxiliary program P is started to access a database server 300. The terminal device of the expected participant displays the latest attendance/absence situation downloaded from the server 300 on the reading image of the mail. The attendance/absence reply of the expected participant is transmitted to the server 300 by pressing down an attendance/ absence reply button on the reading image. A comment can be attached to the attendance/absence reply.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an attendance response system for an event, and more particularly to a system for notifying a prospective participant of the event using a network such as the Internet, and the attendance response from each prospective participant. About the system that accepts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conducting social life, various events (in the present application, so-called events, meetings, trips, meals, etc.
(In the sense that a wide range of people gather for a specific purpose at a specific place and time, it is widely used in daily life.) It is common to attend many private events. If you plan such an event,
The secretary must notify the prospective participants of the purpose, date and time of the event, and the location of the event, collect the attendance responses from the prospective participants, and arrange the venue. In the past, such notices and attendance responses were generally made by mail, and even today, formal meetings, such as wedding receptions and legal affairs, send invitations by sealed letters and attendance by postcards. Is often adopted. on the other hand,
For general events that do not respect formality, notifications and attendance responses using facsimile and e-mail have become widespread. In particular, due to the spread of the Internet in recent years, notifications and attendance replies using e-mail regarding events have been established as the most common forms of communication in terms of quickness and convenience.

[0003]

As described above, when an e-mail is used, it is possible to send a notification to a large number of prospective participants at once, and to receive attendance responses from individual prospective participants at any time. Therefore, it is possible to obtain remarkably quick reportability and convenience as compared with mail or facsimile. However, even when using such e-mail, in terms of exchanging information between the secretary and each prospective participant,
It is exactly the same as using mail or facsimile,
No information exchange between prospective participants is expected. In the case of a general event, the fact that a specific friend is present or not often has a significant effect in deciding one's attendance. For example, it is often the case that if a friend Mr. A attends, he / she wants to attend, but if Mr. A is absent, he / she will also miss himself. As described above, when it is desired to check the attendance status of other members, each prospective participant individually contacts each other by telephone, e-mail, or the like to confirm the status.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an attendance response system to an event in which information can be exchanged between prospective participants.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) A first aspect of the present invention is a system for notifying a prospective participant that an event has been held and accepting the attendance reply from each prospective participant. Presents a web page to the terminal device of the organizer holding the event via the network, and inputs the content of the event, the date and time of the event, the place of the event, the name of the prospective participant, and the e-mail address on the web page. For each prospective participant, based on the Web server that accepts the information and the name and e-mail address of the prospective participant entered in the Web server,
At least a mail server that distributes e-mails to inform the contents of the event, the date and time of the event, and the location of the event, and accepts attendance responses from each prospective participant via the network, aggregates these, and stores them as data indicating attendance status The mail server performs a process of embedding, in the e-mail, address information for accessing the database server via a network and an auxiliary program executable by e-mail reading software. After that, the function of distributing the e-mail is executed, and the auxiliary program embedded in the e-mail is read by e-mail reading software incorporated in the terminal device of the prospective participant who received the e-mail. This is activated when the process of reading the file is executed. Access to the database server based on the address information, display the latest attendance status stored in this database server on the e-mail reading screen, and perform the attendance response on this e-mail reading screen. The function to execute the process of receiving the input of "." And transmitting the input to the database server is executed.

(2) The second aspect of the present invention relates to the above-described first aspect.
In the attendance response system to the event according to the aspect of
The Web server accepts the input of the secretary's own e-mail address on the Web page, and the mail server distributes the e-mail as the secretary is also expected to participate.

(3) A third aspect of the present invention is the above-described first aspect.
Alternatively, in the attendance response system for an event according to the second aspect, the mail server executes a process of pasting a map image near the venue to an e-mail and delivering the map image based on information indicating the venue. It was done.

(4) The fourth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the third aspect, the mail server searches for an advertisement optimal for the character string based on the character string indicating the content of the event, and pastes the searched advertisement into an e-mail. This is to execute a process of attaching and distributing.

(5) The fifth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the fourth to fourth aspects, the auxiliary program performs a process of accepting the input of the comment together with the attendance response and transmitting the comment to the database server, and the database server sends the data together with the data indicating the attendance status. The comment entered by the prospective participant is stored, and the comment entered by the prospective participant is displayed on the electronic mail reading screen together with the latest attendance status.

(6) A sixth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the fifth aspect, when displaying the latest attendance status on the e-mail reading screen, the names of prospective participants are classified into participants, non-participants, and non-responders. In this case, a list is displayed.

(7) A seventh aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the sixth to sixth aspects, the mail server sends an e-mail to a prospective participant for whom no attendance response has been obtained even after a predetermined period has elapsed after the e-mail distribution. Is executed again.

(8) The eighth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the seventh to seventh aspects, the mail server executes a process of delivering an e-mail indicating the latest attendance status to the venue.

(9) The ninth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the attendance response system for events according to the eighth to eighth aspects, the Web server has a function of accepting input of a plurality of candidate dates and times in place of the date and time of the event, and the auxiliary program replaces the input of the attendance response and It has a function of inputting a convenience reply for each holding candidate date and time, and the latest convenience reply status is displayed on the e-mail reading screen instead of the latest attendance status.

(10) According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the attendance response system to the event according to the first to ninth aspects, the auxiliary program replaces the input of the attendance response after the end of the event. It has a function of inputting a report item for an event, and a report item for each participant's event is displayed on the e-mail reading screen instead of the latest attendance status.

(11) According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the attendance response system to events according to the above-described first to tenth aspects, the Web server may include a latest attendance status stored in the database server. Or comment on the web
It has a function to post on the page, and each prospective participant
The latest attendance status or comment can be confirmed by browsing this Web page using browser software.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

§1. Basic Configuration of System FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an attendance response system to an event according to an embodiment of the present invention. This attendance answering system includes a Web server 10 as shown in FIG.
0, a mail server 200, and a database server 300, all of which are connected to the Internet 400. As a general business form, a provider that provides the service of the attendance answering system (hereinafter, referred to as a service provider) is a Web provider.
The server 100, the mail server 200, and the database server 300 are prepared, and the service is provided to general users. A general user uses a terminal device such as a personal computer or a mobile phone to connect to the Internet 40.
0, and the service is provided from each of the servers 100, 200, and 300.

FIG. 1 shows a secretary terminal device 10 and terminal devices 20, 30, and 40 for prospective participants. Each of these terminal devices 10 to 40 has a function of connecting to the Internet 400. Devices such as personal computers and mobile phones. Here, for convenience of explanation, the secretary terminal device 10
And the terminal devices 20 to 40 for prospective participants. This is a terminal device for the secretary terminal device 10 operated by the secretary for holding a specific event, and the terminal devices 20 to 40 for prospective participants. Is a terminal device operated by a prospective participant other than the organizer for the event, for the sake of convenience. The individual terminal devices are all equal, and even though the terminal device 10 for the organizer is special hardware, No software or software is used. Basically, each of the terminal devices 10 to 40 transmits Web browser software for browsing the Web page W provided by the Web server 100 via the Internet 400 and the mail server 200 to the Internet 400.
If email software for reading the email M distributed via is installed,
Any terminal device may be used. The attendance status data S stored in the database server 300 is also provided to each of the terminal devices 10 to 40. The process of providing the attendance status data S to each terminal device will be described later. As described above, the program is executed by the auxiliary program P embedded in the electronic mail M.

§2. Basic operation of the system The outline of the operation of the attendance answering system is as follows. First, a secretary (one of the general users) who intends to use this system to notify of an event and give an attendance / reception is specified via the Internet 400 to a specific Web page W provided by the Web server 100. The user accesses a page (usually a homepage) and uses the Web browser of the secretary terminal device 10 to access the Web page W
Is displayed. The Web page has a format for inputting the content of the event, the date and time of the event, the location of the event, the name of the prospective participant, and the e-mail address. When the secretary inputs these items according to this format, The input item is Web server 1
00 will be stored. After all, Web server 1
00 presents a Web page W via the network to the secretary terminal device 10 that holds the event, and on this Web page W, the content of the event, the date and time of the event, the location of the event, the name of the participant, The processing for receiving the input of the e-mail address is executed.

In this way, the contents input to the Web server 100 are transmitted to the mail server 200. The mail server 200 sends an e-mail M for notifying at least the contents of the event, the date and time of the event, and the location of the event to each prospective participant based on the name and e-mail address of the prospective participant input to the Web server 100. Has the function of automatically distributing More specifically, information notifying the content of the event, the date and time of the event, and the location of the event is posted as a text B on the email M. In addition, the auxiliary program P and the address information A are embedded in the electronic mail M. These functions will be described later.
Thus, the e-mail M notifying of the event is sent from the mail server 200 to each of the terminal devices 20 and 3 for prospective participants.
0, 40 (in this embodiment,
The same e-mail M is also delivered to the secretary terminal device 10).

Each prospective participant who has received the e-mail M
Attendance answer about this event is available on the Internet 40
0 to the database server 300. The database server 300 has a function of receiving attendance replies from each prospective participant via a network, totaling the responses, and storing the results as attendance status data S. In the case of this embodiment, it also has a function of storing a comment C received from a prospective participant. Here, a unique mechanism is employed as a mechanism for transmitting the attendance reply and the comment to the database server 300. As described above, the mail server 200 stores the e-mail M
It has a function of transmitting the electronic mail M after embedding the auxiliary program P and the address information A. Here, the address information A is address information for accessing the database server 300 via the Internet 400 (for example, the database server 300
URL address). The auxiliary program P is a program that can be executed by electronic mail reading software incorporated in the terminal devices 10 to 40, and is activated when a process of reading the electronic mail M is executed.
The auxiliary program P is activated on the terminal device 10-40 side, and then accesses the database server 300 based on the address information A, and
A process for displaying the latest attendance status stored in the e-mail on the e-mail reading screen, and accepting the input of an attendance answer or comment on the e-mail reading screen and transmitting this to the database server 300 Has the function of performing

Several file formats are currently used as file formats for electronic mail, but all of them have in common that information is handled as character data. Auxiliary program P
The address information A is formally embedded in an electronic mail file composed of a set of character data. In a file consisting of character data,
Currently, there is no way to embed programs
It is preferable to use ava (a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc., USA) or JavaScript (a scripting language for the Internet, developed by Netscape Communications Inc., USA). If these languages are used, it becomes possible to paste a program or data code directly into character data constituting an electronic mail file. Currently, most commonly used e-mail software uses this Ja-
It has a function of interpreting and executing va and JavaScript. It should be noted that data such as image data and audio data can be added to the auxiliary program P embedded in the e-mail file as needed.

In this manner, the file format of the electronic mail M in which the auxiliary program P and the address information A are embedded is not different in appearance from the file format of a general electronic mail, and is performed in the same procedure as a general electronic mail. , Via the Internet 400. The e-mail delivered to the terminal devices 10 to 40 is usually
It is stored in a storage means such as a hard disk. When reading the received e-mail, the receiver selects a specific e-mail to be read from the list of received e-mails, and performs a process of opening the selected e-mail. The selected e-mail is displayed on the reading screen of the display, and the reading process activates the auxiliary program P embedded in the e-mail. General e-mail files are in text format or HT
Since the data is in the ML format, the content presented on the e-mail reading screen is limited to the content that can be presented in these formats, but the area displayed by the execution of the auxiliary program P is There is no such limitation, and any information can be displayed in any form depending on the contents of the auxiliary program P.

Auxiliary program P started on the terminal device side
First accesses the database server 300 based on the address information A. Thus, the terminal device and the database server 300 are connected via the Internet 400. The first function of the auxiliary program P is a process of downloading the latest attendance status data S and comment C stored in the database server 300 to the terminal device side and displaying them on the electronic mail reading screen. However, on the electronic mail reading screen, the part of the mail body B described in the text format or the HTML format and the part of the attendance status data S downloaded by the auxiliary program P are displayed without distinction. The person does not recognize these separately. From the point of view of the reader, the only perception is that the e-mail is being read on the display screen. However, in practice, a part of the information on the reading screen is the attendance status data S and the comment C downloaded in real time from the database server 300 side.

The second function of the auxiliary program P is a function of accepting the input of an attendance answer or the input of a comment on the electronic mail reading screen and transmitting the same to the database server 300 via the Internet 400. . However, the reader does not particularly use such a function, and from the viewpoint of the reader, simply inputs desired data into a part of the text of the e-mail displayed on the display screen. You only know that you are performing an operation.

After all, the auxiliary program P automatically executes the above-mentioned two functions under the e-mail reading software. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the reader, the auxiliary program P uses the e-mail reading software. It looks as though the user has read the e-mail and, if necessary, performed some operation input on the e-mail reading screen.

§3. Specific Use Example Next, the merits of the attendance response system to an event according to the present invention will be described with reference to a specific use example. Now, consider a case in which a secretary who has planned a golf competition uses this system to notify a prospective participant and obtain an attendance answer. First, the secretary connects to the Internet 400 using the secretary terminal device 10 (for example, a personal computer), specifies the URL of a specific Web page W of the Web server 100, and displays the Web page W on the display screen. Display. FIG. 2 shows an example of the Web page W displayed on the display screen of the secretary terminal device 10 in this way. The secretary inputs desired information from the keyboard or the like into each of the input fields of the Web page W.

First, enter your own e-mail address in the "Your mail address" field. In this embodiment, the Web server 100 executes the following on the Web page W:
The mail server 200 has a function of receiving an input of an e-mail address of the secretary himself, and the mail server 200 has a function of distributing an e-mail as one of the prospective participants. Subsequently, the name and e-mail address of the prospective participant (the person who is to be notified of the event) are entered in the respective fields of the prospective participant name and the e-mail address. Furthermore,
Enter the respective information in the fields of title, venue, date and time, and enter the text of this notification in the text field. The title input in the title field and the text input in the text field are information indicating the content of this event.

FIG. 3 is an example of a screen when a single entry has been completed for such a Web page W. In this example, a list of seven prospective participants has been entered, and the notification will be sent by e-mail to all eight, including the secretary. Note that an "automatically attached map" field is provided below the venue field. If this field is checked, the e-mail is sent to the mail server 200.
Performs a task of automatically pasting a map image of the vicinity of the venue into an e-mail based on the information indicating the venue and distributing the map image.

The secretary checks the input contents as shown in FIG. 3 on the display screen, confirms that there are no errors, and then clicks the "register" button. As a result, the input contents are taken into the Web server 100, and the contents are formally registered. Conversely, if you click the "Cancel" button, no registration is made. Once the formal registration is done, this entry will be sent to the mail server 2
Sent to 00. The mail server 200 creates an electronic mail M notifying the input contents according to a predetermined format. FIG. 4 is a display example of the electronic mail M created in this way. The mail server 200 creates a mail body B based on the contents of the event, the date and time of the event, and the information of the place where the event is input on the Web page W, and performs processing for embedding the auxiliary program P and the address information A therein. This e-mail M will be delivered to each prospective participant (including the secretary).

When the terminal devices 10 to 40 receive the electronic mail M and read it, a display as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained on the display screen. Here, the area PP surrounded by the one-dot chain line is actually an area displayed by the function of the auxiliary program P.
Outside corresponds to the part of the mail body B displayed in the original electronic mail format. In this example, H
This is an example in which an E-mail in TML format is used. In the mail body B, characters of an arbitrary size are displayed, and a map image is displayed. The map image is an image automatically added by the mail server 200 as described above. In order to realize such a map automatic addition function, for example, map image data of a candidate place for a venue designated as a venue is prepared in the mail server 200 in advance, and the character input as the venue is prepared. The corresponding map image data may be searched based on the column. In the case of the example shown in the figure, the map image data prepared corresponding to the character string “XYZ Country Club” is automatically searched for and pasted to the e-mail. Of course, a method of inputting the address of the venue and automatically cutting out and pasting a map in the vicinity thereof based on this address may be adopted.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, at the bottom of the mail body B, a banner advertisement "Golf tool is XX" is posted. This is because, in the case of the present embodiment, the mail server 200 determines, based on a character string indicating the content of the event,
This is because it has a function of searching for an advertisement that is optimal for the character string and pasting the searched advertisement to an e-mail for distribution. If the service provider providing this service is a general for-profit company, it is naturally necessary to obtain some benefit from the service providing business. As a method for obtaining a profit, a method of charging each user (for example, a secretary) using a credit card or the like can be considered, but in the present embodiment, it is expected that practical use can be expected. Advertisements are posted on e-mails to be distributed and advertising fees are collected from advertisers. According to this method, each user can use this system free of charge, which is very convenient in operation and can be convenient for the user.

In the embodiment shown here, in order to enhance the effect of the advertisement, an advertisement associated with the content of the event is posted. That is, the mail server 200
There are a large number of advertisements requested by a plurality of advertisers, and some keywords are associated with each advertisement. Then, a character string indicating the content of the event (for example, a character string entered in the title box and body text box in FIG. 3) is compared with a keyword associated with each advertisement, and the advertisement having the highest degree of matching of the character strings is compared. Is determined to be the best advertisement for the event, and is posted. In the case of the example shown in FIG.
The relevance to the character string “golf competition” indicates that the golf-related advertisement has been selected as the optimal advertisement.
Since the prospective participants of the “golf competition” are extremely likely to be at least interested in golf, very effective advertisements are possible.

As described above, the area PP is an area displayed by the function of the auxiliary program P.
In this area, various information is presented by linking with the database server 300. Therefore, the information in the area PP is basically information displayed in a state where the terminal device and the database server 300 are connected online (when the reading operation is performed offline, , Automatically online connection). The area PP is the database server 300
Is used as a display area for the attendance status data S and comments C downloaded from (a first function of the auxiliary program), and is also used as a work area for uploading attendance replies and comments to the database server 300 (auxiliary program). (Second function of the program).

In the example shown in FIG. 4, three list display areas, ie, a participant list, a non-participant list, and an unanswered person list, are provided.
Based on the attendance status data S stored in 0, the participant name, non-participant name, and unanswered person name related to the event are displayed. When the secretary performs registration work on the Web server 100, the name and e-mail address of the prospective participant input in this registration work are sent to the mail server 200 and the database server 3
It is also sent to 00. The database server 300 creates attendance data S for each event based on the data. This attendance status data S indicates the answer status or attendance status of each prospective participant. Initially, all prospective participants are in the “unanswered” state. The data is updated to "participation" or "non-participation" each time there is an attendance response from.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the electronic mail M has been read immediately after being delivered, and all the prospective participants are listed in the unanswered person list column. This is the attendance status data S in the database server 300,
This indicates that unanswered data is stored for all prospective participants. Email M as shown in FIG.
Of the participant who has read the "Check" (either click the square in the top) in either "Participate" or "Not Participate" in the area PP, and click the "Send" button to answer the attendance. It can be performed. Such attendance response processing is handled by the auxiliary program P, and the name of the participant who has made the response, its e-mail address, and information indicating "participation" or "not participating" are transmitted to the database server 300. Will be done. The database server 300 performs the process of updating the contents of the attendance status data S every time an attendance answer is obtained from each prospective participant.

Each prospective participant can also attach a comment when making an attendance reply. That is, when the “comment” button in the area PP is clicked, a comment input window (not shown) opens, and an arbitrary comment C can be input here (or
A comment input window may be provided directly at the "comment" button.) Thus, comment C
Is input, a check is made in either “participation” or “non-participation”, and the “send” button is clicked, whereby the comment C can be transmitted to the database server 300 together with the attendance response. Of course, such input processing and transmission processing of the comment C are also executed by the auxiliary program P. When the comment C is attached, the database server 300 stores the comment C together with the attendance status data S (of course, the comment C is stored so that it can be identified from whom the comment is related to which event).

As described above, when the notification of the event is distributed to each prospective participant as e-mail M, attendance replies and comments from each prospective participant gradually gather in the database server 300. The attendance data and comments stored here are updated. Here, the important point is that the area P of the e-mail M
The content of P is that it is updated in real time according to the content of the database server 300. As described above, the auxiliary program P embedded in the e-mail M is activated when browsing processing of the e-mail M is performed, and the database server 30 is stored in the area PP.
A process for downloading and displaying the latest information in 0 is executed. Therefore, the information in the area PP changes depending on the time when the electronic mail M is read.

For example, suppose that after an e-mail M indicating an event notification is distributed all at once, a prospective participant opens and reads the e-mail M on the following day. FIG.
Is an example of a reading screen displayed on the display in such a case. In the participant list column, four names are listed, and in the non-participant list column, one name is listed, and only two non-respondents are listed. The attendance response from the first person is expected to be transmitted to the database server 300, indicating that the attendance status data S has been updated. Eventually, this prospective participant
When the e-mail M is opened, the attendance at the present time can be confirmed. For example, if "Sato XX" does not participate, you will be able to obtain the judgment material that you will not participate, so refer to such judgment material and refer to either "participation" or "non-participation". Check the box and click the "Send" button. In addition, if your name is listed in the unanswered person list, there will be a psychological factor that you must give an attendance answer promptly, and the answer promotion effect will be obtained.

In this embodiment, for a participant who has attached a comment to the attendance answer, the name of the list is set to a special display so that it can be clearly indicated that the comment is attached. I have. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, “Tanaka XX” in the participant list
Only Mr. is shown in bold typeface, but this is `` Tanaka ○
This is to indicate that a comment has been received from Mr. “○”. If you want to read the comment from Mr. "Tanaka XX", click on the "Tanaka XX" part in this list, and as shown in FIG. 6, "Tanaka XX" appears in the comment display column. Will see his comment (specifically,
By the auxiliary program P, the database server 300
Will be downloaded and displayed).

As already mentioned, the information in the area PP is
Since it is updated each time an operation of opening and reading an e-mail is performed (the operation of opening and reading an e-mail starts the auxiliary program P, automatically connects to the database server 300, and updates the latest attendance status data S (And to download comment C if necessary), each prospective participant may open and read previously received e-mails at any time, if he wants to know the latest attendance status. The email itself is an old email delivered in the past,
Only the information in the area PP therein is updated to the latest information at the time of reading by the function of the auxiliary program P, so that the latest attendance status can always be confirmed even with the same e-mail. That is, even if the attendees who have already answered the attendance have opened the received e-mail once a day and read the contents, the change of attendance status can be confirmed every day. On the e-mail reading screen, the names of prospective participants are classified and displayed as participants, non-participants, and non-respondents, so that the attendance status is clear at a glance.

Further, when the schedule is changed, the process of changing the attendance answer can be easily performed. For example, if the attendance response of “participation” has already been sent, but the urgent business has entered and the participation cannot be made, the same e-mail is opened again, and “unparticipation” is checked and resent. When a plurality of attendance replies are received from the same prospective participant, the database server 300 performs a process of updating the stored contents, considering the last attendance replies as valid.
Therefore, even if the schedule is changed, it is possible to respond only by opening the e-mail and performing the attendance response operation again. Of course, it is also possible to correct the content of the comment.

§4. Some Modifications and Application Examples Although the present invention has been described based on the basic embodiment, some modification examples and application examples will be described here.

(1) Reminder Function In the above-described embodiment, the distribution of the e-mail to each prospective participant is basically once per event.
The mail server 200 may perform a process of re-distributing the e-mail to a prospective participant for whom no attendance response has been obtained even after a predetermined period has elapsed after the e-mail distribution. It is possible that the email did not arrive due to some accident, or that the prospective participant accidentally deleted the email without reading it when browsing,
If a function of performing distribution again is provided in this way, more reliable notification is possible.

(2) Notification to the venue If this system is used, the database server 300
, The latest attendance data S is always stored, and this content is distributed by e-mail to a facility (for example, XYZ country club in the case of the above example) which is to be held as it is. It is also possible. For example, when the secretary performs the registration work, the e-mail address of the venue is also required to be entered, and the mail server 200 sends the address to the venue at a predetermined time.
If a function of distributing an e-mail indicating the latest attendance status in the database server 300 is provided, there is no need to separately notify the number of people to the venue. Of course, the same e-mail as the secretary or the prospective participant may be delivered to the person in charge of the venue.

(3) Schedule Adjustment The above example is based on the premise that the date and time of the event have already been determined. However, depending on the event, a plurality of event candidate dates and times may be presented to make it convenient for each date and time. In many cases, it is better to decide the formal date and time after hearing. In such a case, first, an electronic mail for schedule adjustment may be delivered. More specifically, the web server 100 accepts a plurality of input candidate dates and times in place of the date and time of the holding, and the auxiliary program P
In this case, instead of inputting the attendance response, it is possible to enter the convenience response for each holding candidate date and time, and the latest convenience response status will be displayed on the e-mail reading screen instead of the latest attendance status What should I do? FIG. 7 is an example in which the content of such an email for schedule adjustment is displayed on a display screen. In this example, the five candidate dates and times in the horizontal direction, the names of the prospective participants in the vertical direction,
Each of the listed tables is shown, but if such a table is displayed by the auxiliary program P, each prospective participant can directly access his or her own convenience (in this example, ◎: convenient, △: unknown, ×: inconvenient). Specifically, it is sufficient that input can be made only for the line of the user's name, and after inputting one of the symbols in the column of each candidate date and time, the user may click the “send” button. The result of the convenience answer is
It is stored in the database server 300. Of course, the result of this convenience answer is downloaded in real time, so that each prospective participant can always check the latest state of others' convenience.

(4) Effective Use After Event End Although all of the embodiments described above are based on the premise of holding an event, the present system can be effectively used even after an event ends. That is, if the auxiliary program P performs a process of inputting a report item for the event after the end of the event instead of inputting the attendance response, instead of displaying the latest attendance status on the e-mail reading screen, Thus, it is possible to display the report items for each participant's event. For example, the latest attendance status is always displayed in a list in the area PP of the email M shown in FIG. 6, but such display becomes meaningless after the event ends. I will.
Therefore, after the event, a table such as that shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in the area PP. This table shows what each participant reported to the event. Also in this case, each participant is allowed to input only the line of his / her name on the reading screen of the e-mail. The input report items may be stored in the database server 300, and may be downloaded in real time each time the e-mail is opened.

(5) Posting on Web Page In the above embodiments, the latest attendance status and comments stored in the database server 300 are presented to the area PP in the electronic mail M by the auxiliary program P. However, it is preferable that the latest attendance status and comment be posted on a dedicated Web page by the Web server 100. If the URL of this dedicated Web page is described in the e-mail body B of the e-mail M delivered to each prospective participant, each prospective participant will
The b page can be accessed using Web browser software, so that the latest attendance status and comments can be confirmed not only on the e-mail but also on this dedicated Web page.

Although the present invention has been described based on several embodiments illustrating the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various other forms.

[0050]

As described above, according to the attendance response system for an event according to the present invention, it is possible to exchange information not only between the attendance replies but also between prospective participants.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an attendance response system to an event according to a basic embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page W presented by the Web server 100 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which necessary items related to an event have been input to the Web page W shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an e-mail M created by the mail server 200 shown in FIG. 1 based on the input contents shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a state in which the electronic mail M shown in FIG. 4 is opened on the next day.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an e-mail M shown in FIG.
It is a figure which shows the state which displayed the comment of Mr. (circle).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the content of an e-mail for performing a schedule adjustment in a system according to a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a system according to another modification of the present invention.
It is a figure showing an example of input contents of the report matter after the end of an event.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal device for secretaries 20-40: Terminal device for prospective participants 100 ... Web server 200 ... Mail server 300 ... Database server 400 ... Internet A ... Address information B ... Mail text C ... Comments M ... E-mail P ... Auxiliary program PP: Area displayed by auxiliary program S: Attendance status data W: Web page

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 326 G06F 17/60 326 330 330 330

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A system for notifying a prospective participant of the holding of an event and accepting the attendance response from each prospective participant, wherein a terminal device of a secretary holding the event is sent to a web page via a network. And a Web server that accepts input of the content of the event, the date and time of the event, the location of the event, the name of the prospective participant, and the e-mail address on the Web page; and the name and the name of the prospective participant input to the Web server. A mail server that delivers an e-mail to inform each attendee based on their e-mail address, at least informing them of the details of the event, the date and time of the event, and the venue, and attendance responses from each attendee via the network And a database server that counts this and stores it as data indicating the attendance status. The mail server, after performing processing of embedding address information for accessing the database server via a network and an auxiliary program executable by electronic mail reading software in the electronic mail, The auxiliary program is activated when e-mail reading software incorporated in the terminal device of the prospective participant who received the e-mail executes processing for reading the e-mail. Then, after startup, the database server accesses the database server based on the address information, and displays the latest attendance status stored in the database server on an electronic mail reading screen. On the reading screen, accept the attendance answer input and enter it in the database. Attendance Response System to the event, characterized in that it has a function of performing processing to tell Susaba. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Web server has a function of receiving an input of an electronic mail address of the secretary himself / herself on a Web page, and the mail server is configured to accept the secretary as one of the prospective participants. An attendance response system for an event, which has a function of delivering an e-mail. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mail server has a function of pasting a map image near the venue to an electronic mail based on the information indicating the venue and distributing the map image. Attendance response system to featured events. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mail server searches for an advertisement optimal for the character string based on the character string indicating the content of the event, and An attendance response system for an event, which has a function of pasting the information to an e-mail and distributing it. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary program has a function of receiving a comment together with the attendance response and transmitting the comment to a database server. It has a function to store the comment entered by the prospective participant together with data indicating the attendance status, and the comment entered by the prospective participant is displayed on the e-mail reading screen along with the latest attendance status. Attendance response system to the event to do. 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein when displaying the latest attendance status on the e-mail reading screen, the name of the prospective participant is indicated by a participant, a non-participant, and an unanswered answer. Attendance response system for events, characterized by being classified into persons and displayed in a list. 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mail server is provided for a prospective participant for whom no attendance response has been obtained even after a predetermined period has elapsed after the e-mail distribution. Is an attendance response system for events, which has a function of redistributing e-mail. 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mail server has a function of delivering an e-mail indicating the latest attendance status to the venue. Attendance response system. 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Web server has a function of receiving a plurality of holding candidate dates and times in place of the holding dates and times, and Instead of inputting, it has a function to enter a convenience answer for each candidate date and time, and the latest convenience answer status is displayed on the e-mail reading screen instead of the latest attendance status An attendance response system for events characterized by the following. 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary program has a function of inputting a report item for the event after completion of the event, instead of inputting an attendance response, and An attendance response system for an event, wherein a report item for each participant's event is displayed on the reading screen instead of the latest attendance status. 11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Web server has a function of posting the latest attendance status or comment stored in the database server on a Web page. An attendance response system for an event, wherein a prospective participant can confirm the latest attendance status or comment by browsing the Web page using Web browser software.